The Ozempic theory of societal change
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*[Ozempic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaglutide) is the moment society stops pretending that discipline alone should govern the body.*

If you take steroids you're a loser — that's the mood. It's *almost* similar with Ozempic today^[This is in the Western European context, where the puritan disgust around body interventions runs deep], but the mood is shifting.

From what we know, Ozempic is safe^[There are behavioral changes people discuss as downsides, I don't want to downplay them too much, but from what we know, Ozempic is the real deal], and people love it because of the upsides: improved health, looks.
Downstream from that, confidence.
Healthier, happier people lead to a healthier, happier society.

It follows that Ozempic won't just make us healthier, it will change how we as a society think about external interventions into our bodies.
I argue this shift will also lead to us becoming spiritually healthier, with the help of external devices.

There's a growing literature on [transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation](https://sarahconstantin.substack.com/p/ultrasound-neuromodulation), a noninvasive way to reach deep [equanimity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equanimity).
You point ultrasound at specific brain regions, modulating neural activity toward equanimity, all without surgery.
It's a hot topic, soon you'll hear all about these devices in societal discourse.

If you react with puritan disgust (why would anyone *want* help to meditate, this is backwards from its purpose), start observing how the mood around Ozempic changes in your society.
Being overweight has huge effects on people's lives, and by extension, society.
Not being equanimous does too.
You can almost run down the entire list of [seven deadly sins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins): anger, envy, greed, pride — all failures of equanimity.

Within ten years, the idea that mental states must only be achieved through discipline will look as outdated as the idea that bodily weight loss should only come from discipline.
Ozempic is just the first domino. I actually don't know which intervention comes next, but they're coming.
All I know is that Ozempic's success makes society change its mind.